Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: moongirl on April 12, 2009, 14:31:55 PM
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Hi,
Are there any recommended cat trees/activity centres and also some to avoid ?
I am sure I read a thread somewhere stating the construction of some of these was a bit flimsy and my 1st thoughts would be to avoid models with less than a certain pole diameter.
There seem to be quite a lot listed on ebay with some of them having quite a lot of purchases, particularly the "cumfycats" models. Interestingly, a lot of them have Spanish cities as model names, very odd, I know there are lot of cats in Spain so perhaps its an obvious naming system.
Thx & Rgds
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My favourites are Kalven, http://www.kalven.co.uk/pagoda.htm they are very strong (with wooden poles not cardboard like many) and last for years. :)
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If you want a slightly different cat tree I can highly recommend the one we got from IKEA last year - they call it a Scratching figure. It's made of wicker (I think) so very durable for when they do scratch the front.
We bought it as it looked quite modern and the type we'd had before (the ones with sisal tended to get destroyed quite quickly by our lot!) :wow:.
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20112073
It does need a bit of a modification, in that when we fitted it to the wall, there wasnt enough room for the cats to turn around when going up or down, so my husband fitted a piece of 2"x2" to the tree, and then fixed that to the wall. Those extra 2"'s made all the difference and now we cant stop them from being on it.
Molly, loves to 'bear hug' her way up the outside of the tree, Sully loves to flop on the 2nd branch down and snooze, and Jasper loves to climb up the inside (or jump to the 2nd branch down from the sofa!) - Jasper and Molly love to play fight on it too!!!
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We also have a Kalven. OH only commented today that "don't know what we would have done without it". We have 6 puds including 2 kittens. They all use it regularly for play and sleeping esp the kittens. Very solid. It cost £140 inc delivery but money very well spent.
D'ya think this may be an excuse to post a pic? Course it is.....
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii191/Rosella100/newbies/CIMG3417.jpg)
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D'ya think this may be an excuse to post a pic? Course it is.....
Wrong thread Rosella! :naughty: :rofl:
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Nope, Rosella's got a picture of the terrors for every thread. ;)
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Don't encourage me JS :evillaugh:
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Yes, i can vote for Russell Hardy and also Kalven - got some of each and they last for years .
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We have the same Kalven tree as Rosella's, and find it great. It also packs in quite a lot of tree for a comparatively small footprint, which is useful if space is an issue, as in my one bedroomed flat!
We also have the Colossus from Russell Hardy i (hopefully attached - not tried attachments before!) . Again, small footprint, large tree, sturdy, and very well used.
Would definitely endorse both makers! Plus you get some say in the colour of the tree etc in both cases.
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Don't encourage me JS :evillaugh:
But they're so cute!!
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Does anyone have the attached activity centre? Is it any good?
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Yes me the exact same one ;D
Cats love it, still gets used and I got it about 2 years ago (I think?)
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Not trying to be a pain, honest! What are the measurements in inches?
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Your luck I have a tape measure to hand :evillaugh:
roughly 30inch wide and 66 tall
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I just ordered this one off zooplus as it was on sale. I thought it looked really funky and should go well in my living room. According to the description this tree is mega durable and more like a piece of furniture. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm I haven't encountered a bad review on it so fingers crossed it will be as good as it looks and my two will like it!
Paradise banana leaf cat tree
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/cattree.jpg)
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Oo! I love them banana leaf trees! :Luv2:
Here's my two big ones....I still have my eye on one on ebay though! :sneaky:
[attachment deleted by admin]
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I have the larger version of this & my cats love it, they play fight & sleep on it and love using the posts to scratch.
I just ordered this one off zooplus as it was on sale. I thought it looked really funky and should go well in my living room. According to the description this tree is mega durable and more like a piece of furniture. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm I haven't encountered a bad review on it so fingers crossed it will be as good as it looks and my two will like it!
Paradise banana leaf cat tree
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/cattree.jpg)
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Im too mean to buy the banana tree versions, the baskets may last but the posts will be used at the same rate as one half the price :innocent:
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I have three from this firm http://www.catplay-stations.com/
one indoor and two outdoor - they are made mostly of wood, and are very robust
it is a small firm, and will carry out special requests if they can
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I love the banana lead ones, but definitely can't stretch to one.....
Thanks CC. :)
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I love the banana lead ones, but definitely can't stretch to one.....
Thanks CC. :)
The paradise banana leaf tree is down from £249 to £139 (or £136 if you pay by direct transfer ;) ) on Zooplus at the moment and this includes delivery. I know it's still a bit on the pricey side and believe me I was in two minds myself about buying it but the reviews are sooo good....before I knew it the plastic was out lol
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Baby British, I love your signature :evillaugh:
I'm currently uhmm-ing and ahh-ing over a big scratching post for Pepsi, I can't decide at all. Saw a decent looking one on Argos' website but the reviews say it's really flimsy and rubbish so would rather pay a bit more and get something I know is going to last a long time. As I dither over picking one, my furniture is slowly getting more and more destroyed... :naughty: but every time I think I've decided I'll see something else and change my mind :Crazy:
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I know Baby British, I looked as soon as I read your post about them being on offer. Over £100 on a cat tree is sadly out for me, as I'm on a low income and have to balance my finances pretty delicately to care for the animals we have. I'd not be without them, but it does mean that spending that amount of money on a new scratchpost (when I'm only looking for one that gives them more height and there's nothing wrong with the old one) is out of the question. ;)
I do love them though, and want to see lots of piccies of your cats enjoying it! :)
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I just ordered this one off zooplus as it was on sale. I thought it looked really funky and should go well in my living room. According to the description this tree is mega durable and more like a piece of furniture. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm I haven't encountered a bad review on it so fingers crossed it will be as good as it looks and my two will like it!
Paradise banana leaf cat tree
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/cattree.jpg)
I love the banana leaf stuff too, but Milo uses the banana-leaf sleeping den as a scratching post as well as to sleep in, and I'm going to have to chuck it out soon as he's worn holes in it
and I'm getting fed up of finding shredded banana leaf on the floor.
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Jack Sprat - TBH honest normally I wouldn't fork out so heavily on a scratch post so am praying that it turns out to be a worthy investment!
Kucinta - Don't tell me that :shocked: lol
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Kucinta - Don't tell me that :shocked: lol
You'll probably be ok as the tree has the sisal scratch posts - not that my boys didn't have other trees for scratching.
If it wasn't for Milo, the banana leaf den would still be going strong (incidently it came from PAH, called a Catosphere and 'only' about £50 - sadly they don't stock it anymore.)
I bought it for me as much as them, in that it looked good, and they were so sweet when curled up inside together. If Milo had just stuck to using it for a post nap stretch and light scratch we'd have been fine. But for some reason he likes to leap on top of it and strop for England, with a look of fierce concentration on his little face.
It was beautiful while it lasted though...
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The Clan cats have a lot of scratching posts in various sizes and colours - the best ones we have had from Zooplus - bearing in mind we have 191 sets of claws - Maverick has 3 legs so I can count giving them some welly
One of the best I bought about 10 years ago from Lidl - it is now held together by daddys engineering skills but they all still have a go at it its in our downstairs study where the grit boxes live!
One of the best and its taken 2 years to nearly destroy is the Anacol fat boy - it is so much fun as they can sit on top of it
A couple of ours have been helped to the trash dept - or the cat rooms by our Border Collies when puppies playing tuggie with the ferals :rofl:
I also have 18 indoor only cats so ours do take a lot of abuse! :shocked:
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Well the banana leaf cat tree finally arrived today. There had been a problem with the courier service (parcel temporarily went awol!) and the cat tree suppliers were rude and unhelpful. So relieved was I to finally receive the parcel that it had to be assembled straight away and OMG what a mare to do this was! The damn thing is now finally put together and quite frankly........... I LOVE IT! (and so do the cats thankfully)
Here are some pics of them trying their new toy for size. I'm beginning to think that we have permanently lost Marley to the top basket as he hasn't been down for hours!
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/IMG_3932640x480.jpg)
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/IMG_3933640x480.jpg)
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/IMG_3936640x480.jpg)
(http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/kimmyguy/IMG_3943640x480.jpg)
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They look pleased :wow: ;D
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;D It looks great and they look very pleased with it!
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110482603248&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123#ht_500wt_975 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110482603248&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123#ht_500wt_975)
Just found this on Ebay, if anyone's close enough. ;)
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I've been keeping an eye out on eBay for a scratching post to collect as they always seem to go really cheap, but there's never any in my area :P I'll find one eventually!
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Same, Claire! :)
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Although I did just buy a radiator bed from there so Pepsi's bum doesn't have to be cold when she's sat on the windowsill trying to get the heat from the radiator :evillaugh:
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BB - you won't be disappointed with the Banana leaf cat tree. I have had mine for nearly two years and it is still in great nick. The basket on the side droops a little but two of mine are whoppers at 6 kg and love chasing each other over the tree and jumping in the basket. They also like to both try to get into the top basket but it is a bit of a squeeze.
I keep thinking of getting one of the Hi Cat trees. They look amazing but not sure I want to spend so much on yet another cat tree.